After much organisation and preparation, the transport of 18 griffon vultures from the Vulture Conservation Foundation headquarters in Mallorca to Bulgaria took place in March of this year. The vultures were donated to the centre in Mallorca from the recovery centres of Extremadura, Menorca, Castilla La Mancha and the Zoo in Jerez. These birds, which are destined for release at four sites across Bulgaria, play a major role in a national programme for the reintroduction of vultures in Bulgaria - part of the Balkan Vulture Action Plan. 

The official departure event was held in Mallorca at the Mediterranean Wildlife Centre (headquarters of the VCF) on 05/03/2009, and was attended by two representatives from the Green Balkans. The journey took three days and the vultures were transported by minibus via ferry from Mallorca to Barcelona, then by land to the south of Italy, from where a ferry crossed to Greece, and then again by land from Greece to Bulgaria. On arrival the long awaited birds were placed in their newly built cage at the Wildlife Rehabilitation and Breeding Centre in Stara Zagrora. The official arrival event in Bulgaria took place at the rescue centre on the 11/03/2009, and was attended by the Vice President of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Ambassador of Germany, the Mayor of Stara Zagora Municipality, representatives of the MEP, and representatives of the State Forestry Department in Stara Zagora. Juan Sanches, representative of the Black Vulture Conservation Foundation, also arrived from Mallorca to take part in the event. Other important guests at the event were the Green Balkans partners within the reintroduction program – the Bulgarian Environmental Partnership Foundation, the Birds of Prey Protection Society, the Fund for Wild Flora and Fauna, in addition to representatives of the parks which are habilitating the vultures in preparation for their reintroduction.

After being weighed and examined by veterinarians, the juvenile birds stayed at the centre in Stara Zagrora for a month, after which they were transferred to special cages constructed in Sinite Kamani and Vrachanski Balkan Nature Parks and in Kotlenska Mountain, where they will stay until they are ready to be released into the wild in due course.